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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fork — in a road
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — a position
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. hand — help
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. squash — the sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com